‘Will not tolerate separatism, terrorism in JK’

Vowing to give a befitting reply to any attempt to break the country, Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said “separatist movement and terrorism” will not be tolerated in Jammu and Kashmir and asserted that India wants peace, but not with those who do not respect its borders.

Replying to a debate in RajyaSabha on extension ofPresident’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir by six months beginning July 3, he saidthe Modi government has “zero tolerance to terrorism and central agenciessuch as NIA and tax department are working to choke separatist financing in thestate.”

   

Shah advocated a new thinking to solve the Kashmir sayingthe approach of the past 70 years hasn’t yielded any result.

“We want development in the (Kashmir) Valley. But wewill not tolerate any separatist movement and terrorism. Terrorists who do notwant to join with India have no place in the government’s scheme of things.They will face severe action and difficulties,” he said.

Shah said the Modi government struck at the heart of militanttraining when it carried out surgical and air strikes across the border afterthe Uri and Pulwama attacks.

Unlike in the past, foreign and defence policies have beensegregated keeping national security at the core, he said.

“We want peace with the world but there cannot be peacewith those who do not respect our borders,” he said.

He blamed the Kashmir problem to the ceasefire by firstPrime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru when one-third of the state was still inPakistani occupation and said “historical blunders” will always bedebated.

He went on to ask why Nehru government went to the UnitedNations despite Kashmir’s accession to India and agree to hold plebiscite”that is in any case out of question today”.

On reference made by opposition parties to the NationalRegister for Citizenship (NRC), the Home Minister said the Modi government isclear that infiltration must be curbed and infiltrators must be identified andsent out.

A citizenship bill will be brought to give Indiancitizenship to Hindus coming from neighbouring nations, he said.

Rejecting opposition’s allegation that the BJP was usingPresident’s rule to continue its proxy rule, Shah said there is no”drought” for his party as it is in power in 16 out of the 29 statesin the country.

The BJP, he said, formed a government in the state with PDPdue to a fractured mandate of the people and snapped ties when it realised thatseparatists were being patronised.

“We have continued with a single approach towards theKashmir issue but if the problems persists even after 70 years, it becomesimperative for us to review and adopt a new approach. We are all fordevelopment but there will be no place for separatists and terroristhere,” he said.

The Home Minister said Jammu and Kashmir is an integral partof India and no one can detach it from the country. “Our government haszero tolerance for terrorism.”

He, however, said the government is committed to developmentof the state in the spirit of ‘Insaniyat, Jamhuriyat, Kashmiriyat’ (humanity,democracy and Kashmiri traditions), a slogan coined by former prime ministerAtalBihariVajapee which has been often quoted by BJP leaders.

He asked the Congress why panchayat and municipal electionswere not held before and why democracy in the state be restricted to “justthree families”.

Taking a jibe at Leader of the Opposition GhulamNabi Azad,Shah said BJP was for holding simultaneous elections to LokSabha and all stateassemblies and he was willing “to bring a bill tomorrow if the oppositionparty agrees to the proposal”.

To criticism on why government was not asking ElectionCommission to hold elections in the state, he said the poll body alone decideson holding elections.

“Whenever Election Commission says we will not takeeven a single day to call elections in the state,” he said.

Responding to opposition citing Vajpayee’s call forhonouringKashmiriyat, he asked who threw Kashmiri pandits out of state and theSufi traditions. “Were they not part of Kashmiri tradition,” heasked.

The Home Minister also defended shutdown of highways in thestate following the Pulwama attack and during the ongoing Amarnathyatra, sayingthe measure was a necessity for security and safety of people.

The government, he said, is committed to protecting everycitizen.

“Our approach is clear, those who talk of breakingIndia we will respond to them in the same language,” he said. “Thereis no need for fear in anyone’s mind. It is government’s duty to protect everycitizen.”

Shah said the Congress was guilty of misusing Article 356 ofthe Constitution the most to dismiss governments of rival parties in thestates.

On steps taken during the President’s rule, he said securitycover of 2,000 people was reviewed and was withdrawn for 919 persons includingeight separatists.

Separatists advocated shutting down of educationalinstitutions in the Valley but sent their children to foreign countries forhigher education and jobs, he said adding there were some 130 such people.Militants lodged in jails in Jammu and Kashmirare being shifted out to other states to prevent organised militant activitiesin prison, he said.

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